Regarding the Residence Requirement for Permanent Residence

What Is the Residence Requirement for Permanent Residence?

One of the requirements to clear when obtaining Permanent Residence is the residence requirement. This is premised on having held an address in Japan for a certain period of time and continuing to live in Japan going forward. Therefore, you cannot file a Permanent Residence application while residing overseas. This page explains the residence requirement for obtaining Permanent Residence.

The Residence Requirement for Permanent Residence

You must have lived continuously in Japan for 10 years or more, and within this period, have lived in Japan for 5 years or more on a work-related Status of Residence (such as “Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services”) or for 5 years or more on a status-based Status of Residence. For example, if you have been in Japan for 7 years on a student visa and then switched to a work visa for 3 years, you do not satisfy the residence requirement. In this case, you would need 5 years on the student visa and 5 years or more on the work visa.

Also, “5 years or more on a work-related Status of Residence” refers to the most recent 5 years counting backward from the Permanent Residence application. Therefore, for example, if you worked for 2 years on a work visa, then switched to a Student Status of Residence to attend school, and then switched back to a work visa for 3 years of employment, the most recent 5 years are not on a work visa, so you do not satisfy the residence requirement. Furthermore, in this case it is also difficult to satisfy the income requirement, so you need to have been residing in Japan on a work visa for the most recent 5 years counting from the Permanent Residence application.

Regarding “Continuously 10 Years or More”

As explained above, a Permanent Residence application requires, as a general rule, continuous residence in Japan for 10 years or more. However, even if you have had an address in Japan for 10 years or more, if you have left Japan frequently, you may not be considered as having resided continuously for 10 years or more. While the exact number of days is not clearly disclosed, leaving Japan for 90 days or more on a single departure, or being outside Japan for 150 days or more within one year, will work against you in a Permanent Residence application. Your base of life must, after all, be in Japan, and unless there are reasonable grounds, frequent departures may result in Permission for Permanent Residence not being granted.

Note that “continuously” means continuing to reside without your Status of Residence being interrupted. Traveling overseas temporarily after obtaining a Re-entry Permit (including a Special Re-entry Permit) is considered continued residence. However, if you depart without obtaining a Re-entry Permit, or if the Re-entry Permit expires during your stay overseas, your Status of Residence is extinguished, and your residence is no longer considered continuous.

Special Exceptions to the General 10-Year Residence Rule

One of the requirements for a Permanent Residence application is, as a general rule, 10 years or more of residence in Japan, but there are special exceptions to this requirement. The following lists the representative cases in which the residence requirement is relaxed.

Key Points on the Residence Requirement for Permanent Residence

The residence requirement for a Permanent Residence application requires that your base of life be in Japan. Whether your base of life is in Japan is judged not simply by the total number of days outside Japan in a year, but comprehensively from factors such as the reasons for long-term departures, past periods abroad, family circumstances (such as children attending school in Japan), and asset situation (such as whether you own a home in Japan).